CCA's Speakers' Bureau
The CCA’s Speakers’ Bureau launched in 2018 to create a platform for CCA Kids and Adults to share their personal stories in front of an audience.

The Bureau provides training and guidance equipping our speakers with the resources and guidelines to build on their current public speaking skills. While providing avenues to educate the general public through speaking engagements at schools, organizations, clubs, and corporations.

In previous years our speakers have graciously donated their time, efforts, and travel with the goal to educate and spread awareness surrounding craniofacial differences. We love to see the spirit of volunteerism, but we also want to recognize the time and talents of our speakers.

As of the Fall of 2022, with the generosity of the Ananda Foundation and our mentors David Roche and Marlena Blavin, we are taking the Bureau a step further by establishing a speaker’s honorarium and travel fee. The honorarium and fee will not only support our speakers but a portion of the fee will be reinvested in a scholarship fund and continuous mentoring and training programs for our speakers. The scholarship fund will allow us to never deny a school or civic organization a speaker due to their inability to pay. While the training program grants us the opportunity to continue investing in the growth of our speakers.

On September 29, we held the very first Encounter Event! Encounter was the first of an annual event where we unveiled: The David Roche Award of Excellence in Advocacy. The award The award is named in honor of the esteemed David Roche, Member of the Order of Canada, for his lifelong dedication to opening minds and connecting hearts and his invaluable mentorship and support to the staff of Children’s Craniofacial Association.

  • The award will be given each September, which is Craniofacial Acceptance Month. 
  • The award will come with a monetary honorarium of $500. 
  • The award will be selected by the David Roche Award for Excellence in Advocacy committee, which is made up of Children’s Craniofacial Association Executive Director, Outreach Director, David Roche, and past award recipients. 
  • Nominations for the award will be solicited each year from June-July and the committee will meet in August to review nominations and select a winner.
  • The recipient should display characteristics that embody David’s and Marlena’s lifetime of work: remarkable spirit, warmth, wit and authenticity.